Last week, the Wheeling Nailers took a gigantic step in solidifying their position at the top of the North Division, as they won two home games over the Adirondack Thunder. Wheeling has a four-point lead over the Maine Mariners and a six-point advantage over Adirondack with five weeks remaining in the regular season. This week, the Nailers will head north of the border to play a three-game road series against the Trois-Rivières Lions on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

KEEP THOSE BROOMS HANDY
For the second week in a row, the Nailers successfully completed a sweep against an opponent, as they followed up their three-game sweep in Rapid City by knocking off Adirondack on back-to-back nights, 4-0 and 4-2. This was Wheeling's seventh sweep of the season and sixth against a North Division foe. Taylor Gauthier earned the win in both contests, as he won on consecutive days for the first time since January 2nd and 3rd against Worcester and Bloomington. Raivis Ansons was the only player who scored a goal in both games, as he led the Nailers with three points over the weekend. Wheeling is now a season-high 20 games over .500 at 36-16-6, which is good for 78 points.

ANOTHER BLANK SLATE
Taylor Gauthier continued adding to his historic Wheeling career over the weekend by tying two more club records. On Friday night, he was perfect on 29 shots to earn his ninth career shutout with the Nailers, tying Peter Delmas for the most all-time. Then, on Saturday, he appeared in his 114th game with the squad, tying Andy Franck for the most ever. Between Gauthier and Maxim Pavlenko, Wheeling has blanked the opposition six times this season, which is the most shutouts for the Nailers since 2013-14 (nine), and tied for the fourth most by the team in a single season. Overall, Wheeling has been involved in ten shutouts this season, marking the eighth time that number has reached double digits.

SHORTHANDED SPECIALISTS
Some teams would have gotten nervous in the third period on Saturday night, when the Nailers took a penalty with a 3-2 lead. However, this group didn't, and ten seconds later, the home team went ahead 4-2, as Raivis Ansons pounded home the rebound of Logan Pietila's shot. The goal was Wheeling's tenth shorthanded marker of the season, which is tied for the second highest total in the ECHL. The shorties have been coming at a strong clip lately, as eight of the ten have been scored since the turn of the calendar year (last 30 games). The Nailers have done a significant amount of their shorthanded damage at home, as their seven home goals on the man disadvantage rank first in the league. Logan Pietila has factored into the scoring on five (two goals, three assists) of Wheeling's ten shorthanded strikes, placing him tied for third in the ECHL in shorthanded points. This is the 17th time that the Nailers have reached double digits in shorthanded goals during their history.

LUCKY 13 IS ALSO MAGICAL
Playoff hockey is getting closer to its return to the Friendly City every day, and while Wheeling can't officially lock up its spot this week, it can get right to the edge. The Nailers enter the week with a magic number of 13 points. Trois-Rivières currently leads Worcester by one point, making the Lions the team that the magic number is based off of. However, that could flip if the Railers have a more successful week. Although it could slightly delay the clinching date, Wheeling may want to root for Worcester this weekend, as the Railers will play a home-and-home series against Maine on Friday and Saturday, followed by a home contest against Adirondack on Sunday. Maine and Adirondack are the two teams chasing the Nailers for the North Division lead. Reading is also a team of rooting interest this week, as the Royals will play a home-and-home series against the Thunder on Friday and Saturday, then wrap up the weekend by visiting the Mariners on Sunday.

PARLEZ-VOUS FRANÇAIS?
This weekend, the Nailers will travel outside of the United States to Trois-Rivières, Québec, where French is the native language. This is the second ever trip for Wheeling to Trois-Rivières, as the Nailers won two of three games there close out the 2024-25 regular season last April. This will be the second series between the two clubs this season, following a three-game sweep by Wheeling at WesBanco Arena in mid-January. The Lions are trying to battle back from a challenging start to the 2026 calendar year. Trois-Rivières won just four of 16 games from January 2nd through February 6th, but the team has rebounded to go 11-5-0 since then to pull within seven points of the Reading Royals for the fourth and final playoff spot in the North Division. Israel Mianscum has scored five of his team-leading 13 goals in the last five games, while rookie Mathieu Bizier has six points in six games to start his pro career.

Buy Tickets for Upcoming Games
Fri. Mar. 27 - Frosty Friday
Sat. Mar. 28 - Fan Appreciation Night
Sun. Mar. 29 - Full Team Post Game Skate